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Many investigators have suggested that different cytokines may be important players in the development and progression of cancer and tumor biology. Cytokines are integral to many different aspects of cancer, including development/advancement, treatment, and prognosis. However, so far most cytokine -based therapy trials have fallen short of expectations. One of main obstacles is the difficulty to achieve therapeutically relevant dosage in patients without generating excessive normal tissue toxicity. Furthermore, cytokine profile levels have been used to predict cancer prognosis as differential cytokine expression profiles have been correlated with disease progression. Cytokines can also influence the effectiveness of cancer treatments. Elevated cytokine levels have been associated with reducing the anti-cancer activity of various treatments. In this review, we demonstrated the applicable action of cytokines in cancer pathogenesis and treatment.